Page 27 of The Secret Play

Casey McConnell was Red.

No, no, no…

A wave of dizziness washed over me as the realization hit.

This man wasn’t just a stranger I’d hooked up with years ago.

He was Winnie’s father.

There had been no one else around that time. Just him.

My first instinct was to wake Casey up, to blurt out the truth and tell him everything. He deserved to know the truth. But as I stared at him, his peaceful face free of worry and the faintest smile playing on his lips even in sleep, a knot of fear twisted in my stomach.

What would he say?

How would anyone react to being woken out of a sound slumber by life-changing news? Would he be angry with me for not tracking him down? For not telling him he had a daughter? Would he hate me for making the decision to keep her without involving him?

I’d convinced myself all those years ago that I was sparing both of us by not reaching out. I hadn’t wanted to burden him with the responsibility of a child, especially when he’d never asked for one. And if I was honest, I hadn’t been ready to give up my dream job or the life I’d been building for myself in L.A.

And I didn’t know how to contact him. Not really. No name, no number.

I would have had to ask Nico to help him narrow the search down, and that wasn’t happening. As much as my brother understood I was an adult with a life of her own, if I’d asked him to track down the man I’d had my one and only one night stand with, he might have exploded.

But now… now everything was different.

Now, her father was in my life in a way I hadn’t expected.

And he was already starting to mean something to me—not just as Winnie’s father, but as a man I cared about.

I stood there for what felt like an eternity, my mind spinning with questions and doubts. I stared and stared, not sure what to do. Every possibility swirled into muck in my head, and I wanted to run away or tell him or beg him to forgive me or all three.

When Casey stirred and opened his eyes, I quickly wiped the panic off my face, replacing it with a forced smile. “Hey there.”

“Hey,” he said groggily, his voice low and warm. “You’re up early.”

“Yeah,” I said, my voice too bright. Old habits crept in, knowing exactly how to get me out of here. “Um, the ribs didn’t sit well with me. I think I need to head home.”

Concern flashed across his face, and he sat up, his hair adorably disheveled. “Are you okay? Do you want me to drive you?”

“No, no,” I said quickly, grabbing my purse. “I’ll be fine. I didn’t want to wake you, so I called a ride share. I think I just need to rest a bit.”

He hesitated, clearly reluctant to let me leave like this, but he didn’t press. “All right. Text me when you get home, okay? Just so I know you’re okay.”

“I will,” I promised, my chest tightening at the worry in his voice. “Thanks for understanding.”

He walked me to the door, his hand brushing mine briefly as I stepped outside. For a moment, I almost turned back, almost told him everything. But the words caught in my throat, and I gave him a weak smile instead.

“Bye, Casey,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

“Take care, Gemma.”

Thankfully, the rideshare came quickly, and my driver was a woman. She knew enough not to ask too many questions as she drove me home. Picking up a woman in last night’s clothes probably meant she didn’t want to answer a bunch of questions.

I replayed the memories of the night at the masquerade, checking and rechecking them over and over, and each time, the realization hit harder.

As I got out of the car, I made sure to give the driver all the stars and a hefty tip.

When I got home, Megan was sitting on the couch with Winnie, the two of them engrossed in a coloring book. Winnie’s bright red hair was pulled into two messy pigtails, and she was babbling excitedly about the food she’d drawn, her crayons scattered across the coffee table.

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